Dead Island Video Game Makes Big Splash on Twitter
The release of Dead Island, a new horror-action video game, has been creating a frenzy of activity on Twitter Tuesday, as users of the social media site sounded of with their impressions of the game.
The video game, developed by Deep Silver/Techland for Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360, is a first-person survival game involving close combat with zombies on a desolate island.
Dead Island, made available for purchase Tuesday, features customizable weaponry and an experience system where players must battle different levels of adult zombies.
Gamers and fans alike have taken to Twitter to post reviews and express excitement over Dead Island, prompting the game's title to appear on the social media site's Trend list Tuesday.
"I’m gonna go buy Dead Island and play it all day #stoked," wrote Twitter user Nathan Tuesday.
"I can’t stop thinking about Dead Island. Bailing on the family to play more. Don’t judge. They understand that zombie killing comes first," wrote Andrew on Twitter.
Kaam wrote, "Dead Island! Don’t bother me today!"
David said, "Just started playing Dead Island. It’ll be nice to know what I’m doing with my free time for awhile."
Although fans on Twitter seemed to overwhelmingly be in favor of Dead Island, the game has received mixed reviews from critics.
CBS News reported that the trailer advertising Dead Island was better than the actual game, and said: "Techland relies heavily on gamers’ inherent love of zombies, but even an island full of them isn’t enough to make this game anything more than frustrating."
MetaCritic wrote on its Twitter account, "Dead Island (360/Metascore->72) D-toid: "'illiant, but flawed. Fun, but infuriating.' "
Some Twitter users appeared to side with the critics. Matt tweeted, "Not really excited for Dead Island. Seems to straddle the line between realism and fantasy; it’s kind of turned me off."
The game is rated "M for Mature" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), with the game's content descriptors including: "Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol."
Eliot Mizrachi, Director of Communications at ESRB, spoke with The Christian Post Tuesday about Dead Island. He pointed out that the "M" rating indicates that the game has been recommended for players age 17 and older.
Mizrachi added that footage from the video game was carefully analyzed by specially trained game raters who determine the appropriate rating category, as well as content descriptors.
Dead Island has a suggested retail price of $59.99.